Document coach
Wedding Speech
One story told well beats a hundred adjectives — write the toast they remember.
Best man, maid of honor, parent, or friend — you were honored with the ask and now you're staring at a blank page with the wedding weeks away. This guided session works like sitting down with a speechwriter who has coached hundreds of terrified speakers: it steers you away from the two classic traps (a string of inside jokes, a string of generic praise) and toward the one thing that actually works — a specific story about the person you love, told with real detail, that turns on what their new partner completes in them. You'll land one honest emotional beat, lift back up, and end on a clean toast — all inside three to five spoken minutes, so the room is still with you when the glasses go up.
What this expert will cover
- 2 questions
The Room
working notesPrep notes on who's speaking and who's listening — never spoken aloud. Complete means: your relationship to the couple in one line, and the audience mix from grandparents to college friends, so what's off-limits follows from who's actually in the chairs.
- 2 questions
The Heart
working notesThe emotional target and the material that hits it — prep notes, never spoken aloud. Complete means: the ONE thing you want the couple to feel when you finish, and the specific story that proves it.
- 2 questions
Opening
The first words out of your mouth. Complete means: attention earned in the first two sentences — a specific image, confession, or promise — with zero throat-clearing: no "for those who don't know me", no dictionary definition of love.
- 3 questions
The Story
The spine of the speech — one or two specific stories, not a highlight reel of adjectives. Complete means: a story with sensory detail (place, time, what was said), told in spoken rhythm, with a clear point about who this person is.
- 2 questions
The Turn
Where the speech turns to the person they're marrying. Complete means: what the new spouse reveals or completes in the person you know — shown through a specific moment, not asserted — so the speech is about the couple, not just your friend.
- 1 question
The Landing
The one genuine emotional beat, placed late, before the lift back up. Complete means: a single true sentence that risks something — said plainly, directly to the couple — that the speaker can deliver without hiding behind a joke.
- 2 questions
The Toast
The finish. Complete means: a clean, short toast the whole room can raise a glass to — names, one line, glasses up — with the speech before it disciplined to three to five spoken minutes (about 450 to 700 words), and the thank-you list left to the emcee.
The kind of questions it asks
- First, the easy one: who are you to the couple? Best man, maid of honor, parent, old friend — and how long have you known your person? One line is plenty.
- Here's the question the whole speech hangs on: when you finish and sit down, what is the ONE thing you want the couple to feel? Not the room — the two of them. Pick one and we'll aim everything at it.
- What's your opening move — the first two sentences that make the room put down their forks? Two rules only: no "for those who don't know me", and no dictionary definition of love. A specific image, a small confession, or a bold promise all work. Rough is fine; we'll polish.
Ready when you are.
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